4.  On 21 December 1993 the Public Prosecutor at the Izmir Security Court filed an indictment against four accused persons (H.N., N.S., M.Ş.Ç., A.K.) charging them under Article 125 of the former Criminal Code with carrying out activities with the aim of bringing about the secession of part of the national territory. During their interrogation by the police and the public prosecutor, all of the accused persons stated that they had acted upon the instructions of Mr Mehmet Şerif Öner[1]. Subsequently, during the trial before the Izmir State Security Court, they denied the charges against them and retracted their previous statements. On 24 February 1998 the Izmir State Security Court found the accused guilty as charged and sentenced them to life imprisonment. In the judgment the court, presided by Judge G.D.C., found it established that the accused had acted upon the instructions of Mr Mehmet Şerif Öner, whose code name was “Kahraman” and who was active in the Izmir region for the illegal organisation the PKK (Workers’ Party of Kurdistan). This judgment became final on 29 July 1998.
5.  On 13 May 2002 the applicant was taken into custody in Batman on suspicion of membership of the PKK. When arrested, he was in possession of a fake identity card.
6.  On 16 May 2002 the applicant was transferred to the Anti-Terrorism Branch of the Izmir Security Directorate. The same day, he was interrogated by the police in the absence of a lawyer. The applicant denied all the charges against him. He stated that he was using a fake identity card because he had escaped from prison in 1992.
7.  During his police custody, the applicant took part in an identification parade. The complainants, Mr M.Ç., Mr N.Ş. and Mr F.B., identified him as the person who had been involved in the respective armed robberies that had taken place in 1993.
8.  On 17 May 2002 the applicant was further interrogated before the public prosecutor and the investigating judge respectively, still in the absence of a lawyer. During the questionings, the applicant denied his involvement in the PKK. He explained that in the past he had been involved in an armed robbery and had been sentenced to twenty years’ prison. He stated that after his escape from prison, he started using fake identity cards. When his questioning was over, the investigating judge remanded the applicant in custody.
9.  On 5 June 2002 the Public Prosecutor at the Izmir State Security Court filed an indictment with that court, accusing the applicant of engaging in illegal activities with the aim of bringing about the secession of part of the national territory, an offence under Article 125 of the former Criminal Code.
10. During the hearing held on 3 September 2002 the applicant’s lawyer requested the President of the Court, Judge G.D.C., to withdraw from the case, stating that he had also sat as a member of the court which had delivered the judgment of 24 February 1998, in which the applicant was referred to as a member of the PKK. His request was rejected.
11.  On 15 July 2003 the Izmir State Security Court found the applicant guilty as charged and sentenced him to life imprisonment under Article 125 of the former Criminal Code. In its judgment, the court found it established that the applicant had participated in the armed robberies as alleged and taken part in the activities carried out for the purpose of bringing about the secession of part of the national territory. In delivering its decision, the first instance court relied on the police statements of the four accused persons who had been convicted by the Izmir State Security Court on 24 February 1998 and the identification parade records in which the intervening parties had identified the applicant as the person who had been involved in the respective armed robberies.
12.  On 24 February 2004 the Court of Cassation quashed the judgment of the first instance court on the ground that the intervening parties who were eye-witnesses to the armed robberies should be summoned to the court to confront the applicant to eliminate any doubt.
13.  The case resumed before the Izmir State Security Court. In accordance with the decision of the Court of Cassation, the first instance court summoned three intervening parties to give evidence. Before the court, Mr Z.Ö. and Mr N.Ş. stated that as a long time had passed since 1993, they were no longer able to recognise the applicant. Mr M.Ç. however identified the applicant as the person who had stolen his car. As regards the remaining intervening parties, who could not be summoned to the Izmir State Security Court, rogatory courts heard evidence from them. In their statements, Mr F.A., Mr H.A. and Mr Z.A. explained that due to the long time that had elapsed they were not able to recognise the applicant.
14.  In the meantime, by Law no. 5190 of 16 June 2004, published in the Official Gazette on 30 June 2004, the State Security Courts were abolished. The case against the applicant was accordingly transferred to the Izmir Assize Court. Subsequently, on 12 October 2004 the new Criminal Code (no. 5237) was published in the Official Gazette.
15.  On 10 November 2005 the Izmir Assize Court once again found the applicant guilty as charged and sentenced him to aggravated life imprisonment under Article 302 of the new Criminal Code. Among other evidence, the court based itself on the fact that the applicant had been identified by the intervening parties during his police custody.
16.  On 9 May 2006 the Court of Cassation quashed the judgment of the first instance court on procedural grounds, holding that as Article 302 of the new Criminal Code provided a heavier sentence for the offence committed by the applicant, the provisions of the former criminal code should have been applied in his case.
17.  The case was once again remitted to the Izmir Assize Court, which decided on 29 December 2006 to sentence the applicant to life imprisonment under Article 125 of the former Criminal Code. On 11 March 2008 the Court of Cassation upheld this judgment.